End zone? Some Eagles fans wary of going to games
Eagles season ticket holders in Delaware County remain wary of attending games at Lincoln Financial this season, a prospect the City of Philadelphia left open - if only a crack Wednesday.
Eagles superfan Shaun Young, who resides in Glen Mills, has thought long and hard about putting on the trademark war paint, the bandanna, the shoulder pads and the football pants and planting himself in a seat at the Linc, which he’s done regularly since 1995.
It’s the protective mask Young must wear, the still undefined social distancing he must practice and the insidiousness of the COVID-19 virus that’s made him take a timeout.
“To be honest with you I had thoughts of possibly opting out anyway not because of myself but because I would hate to come home with it,” Young said Wednesday. “Not that I can’t get it going to the grocery store or somewhere else. And I just can’t see myself spending 3 1-2 hours wearing a mask. The way I dress and get ready for the games, I mean I put on a lot of face paint. What am I going to do, paint my face and put my mask on to cover my mouth? It would be difficult.
“I just think that for everybody’s safety and any craziness that might go on it’s probably best to keep everybody out as much as I hate to say it. It might be the best for everybody’s safety and health.”
The City of Philadelphia on Wednesday walked back the event moratorium it announced Tuesday, one in which managing director Brian Abernathy said the Eagles and baseball’s Phillies
would be allowed to play home games this season without crowds. Mayor James Kenney said the order isn’t applicable to stadiums or private property. The move came as the city canceled all major events until February, including the Mummers Parade.
Nonetheless, in the city’s modified green stage of COVID recovery, football fans wouldn’t be allowed at this point. That could be amended and a percentage of fans up to 20 percent of stadium capacity be allowed in.
Change, on the other hand, is anything but the norm for veteran Eagles season ticket holders who have shared hundreds of wins and losses but nothing like a coronavirus pandemic.
Jack Morrison, who grew up in Sharon Hill, is the owner of six season tickets, the bulk of them for 35 years. It’s still early but he’s leaning toward taking the year off.
“I’m with a great group of guys and we’ve got great seats, too,” said Morrison, who has relocated to Westtown. “We’re on the 30yard line about 15 rows off the field. I know all the people around me, front and back. I’ve been a fan forever. I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do on Sunday. Just watch it on TV, I guess. I really enjoyed going down there.”
Morrison, 72, has been around long enough to see many Eagles greats. Or to meet them. He was 12 years old and ready to play a round at Rolling Green Golf Club on caddies’ day, a freebie for the baggers, when there was a slight change of plans.
“I hitchhiked there with my clubs and they said, ‘Morrison you can’t play today, you’ve got to work,’” Morrison recalled. “And I got to caddy for Chuck Bednarik. The second-biggest tip I ever got. He didn’t hit the driver. He hit all irons. And you know what I remember most about the whole day? Shaking his hand. His hand was a baseball mitt. His fingers were gigantic and broken and going in different directions. He was my father’s favorite player.”
The event occurred right around the Eagles’ 1960 NFL championship season. The Dick Vermeil years, the Buddy Ryan era, the Chip Kelly experience and the Super Bowl championship season with Doug Pederson and
Nick Foles all have been rewarding for Morrison. Never once was his age a consideration on any front for attending an Eagles game.
Morrison’s biggest tip, if you will, came from his daughters.
“I’m in that demographic, over 70 years old,” Morrison said. “When I’m on the Internet and I’ve got to find my birthdate, I’ve got to spin that wheel forever to get to 1948. That’s two strikes against me. I don’t know how they were going to social distance inside (the Linc) but getting in, nobody’s going to stand
6 feet apart going through the metal detectors and all that. And when you leave, it’s a zoo. I have two daughters. They don’t want me to go.
“Then I see that the Ravens are going to put 14,000 in the stadium. I started thinking, if you do go to the game you’re going to feel like, should I really be here? Looking around and not seeing anybody would be just so strange. So, can you really enjoy the game? I don’t know.”
The Eagles have given season ticket holders the option of pausing their tickets until
2021, with the same seat locations they would have had this year. Payments can be refunded or applied to 2021 tickets.
Bob Rostron has been an Eagles season ticket holder since 1988. He was a regular at training camp practices at West Chester University, Lehigh U. and when he could get the passes, the NovaCare Complex.
From tailgating on game days to christening the Philly-Philly sculpture of
Pederson and Foles in HeadHouse Plaza, Rostron and football friend Chad Friel are diehards.
The last thing Media resident Rostron figured he’d be doing is pausing his tickets account and requesting a refund.
“Going to a football game in Philly is a great experience,” Rostron said. “Going to games, you can blow off some steam, be with your buddies and stuff and enjoy the game. It’s entertainment. But it’s a game. We can still do smaller stuff at home. We’ll just have to make do with what we have, just me and a couple of buddies over at the house. It’s fine. I’ve been doing it for 30-some odd years. To lose a season is tough. We’ve all got to tighten our belts a little bit. But I don’t want to see everybody getting sick. As long as we’re playing ball and everybody is safe and happy, that’s fine. I don’t mind taking a break.”
Young said he bumped into buddies who opted out of their season tickets this season. Health issues were an issue in one case.
“It’s a shame and I hate to see it happen,” Young said. “But I also hate to see people get sick and I hate to see people die. I think it’s just probably the best move going forward. I’ve had season tickets since 1993. If I have to spend one season sitting home or going to a location somewhere to watch the game on TV every week then hey, I’ll suck it up and see what happens. I’ve got many other seasons in front of me and I can have my health.”
Morrison, who’s leaning toward honoring the wishes of his daughters, has a request if the networks televising the games add artificial crowd sound when the Eagles play at the Linc - make it authentic.
“If they’re piping it in, I hope they’ve got something for the boo birds,” Morrison said. “Because there’s tracks where you don’t have too many boos.”